U.S. charges Edward Snowden with espionagePosted by Alahunter on 6/21/13 at 5:56 pm

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quote:Federal prosecutors have filed a sealed criminal complaint against Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked a trove of documents about top-secret surveillance programs, and the United States has asked Hong Kong to detain him on a provisional arrest warrant, according to U.S. officials.

Snowden was charged with espionage, theft and conversion of government property, the officials said.

quote:The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, a jurisdiction where Snowden’s former employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, is headquartered and a district with a long track record of prosecuting cases with national security implications.

re: U.S. charges Edward Snowden with espionagePosted by Yat27 on 6/21/13 at 9:49 pm to Womski

quote:America above all else

I would say,"America above all others." This does not mean that I agree with everything our government does. I don't understand people who believe dissent is always unpatriotic. The Founding Fathers certainly didn't believe that trash...but then again, they were just a bunch of traitors anyway.

re: U.S. charges Edward Snowden with espionagePosted by jbond on 6/21/13 at 9:59 pm to Quentin Compson

As a young (21 year old) democrat, I could not care less about Snowden getting prosecuted. Is anyone surprised though? Regardless of the subject matter, or if it's for what YOU may perceive as a moral reason, leaking state secrets is a crime. Getting sent to prison is a risk you assume when you decide to break your oath.

quote:A crime? Against whom? Who was injured? How is there a crime with no victim?

I started to address this but decided that you couldn't possibly be serious.

quote:What oath did Snowden make?

He signed several specific non-disclosure agreements when he was granted access to sensitive and classified information. I can dig through my official papers and try to scan one for you, but it'd probably be easier for you to just google a blank one. They spell out, in detail, what is expected of those entrusted with state secrets, and outline possible penalties.

Interesting note that I just read at WaPo. Supposedly seven of the nine so-called "whistleblowers" who have been prosecuted under the Espionage Act of 1917 have been charged since 2009.

Alas, as the three former NSA guys who tried to do it the right way pointed out, the "legal" method for dealing with this was not only a dead end but STILL managed to get you potentially charged with treason.